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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mark — a grade
  7. current — happening now
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. current — of water
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mark — a trace
  20. face — to confront
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. face — part of the head
  23. current — electric
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com